Body

A new biological study by the University of Stirling has found that exposure to infections in early life does not have long-lasting consequences for later-life survival and reproduction.

In the UK 150 years ago, a 20-year-old could be expected to live to age 60; nowadays, a 20-year-old is expected to live to over 80. Why has adult lifespan increased so much during the last 150 years?

First discovered in 2009, there are now a total of six known UK infestations of the Lasius neglectus which thrive in greenhouses and domestic gardens. Originating from Asia, they are likely to have arrived in the UK through the import of plants from infected areas.

The ants pose no threat to humans but non-indigenous species are capable of dramatically altering ecosystems and can drive native species to extinction. It is estimated that invasive species cost the UK £1.7billion every year through damage and management costs.

Japanese tadpoles can live and grow in natural hots springs, or onsen, with water temperatures as high as 46.1oC (115oF). Living in onsen may benefit the tadpoles' immune systems, speed their growth, and allow the tadpoles to survive on small volcanic islands where there are few other natural sources of fresh water.

Cold Spring Harbor, NY -- It is one of the wonders of nature: multiplying cells are able to precisely copy their genetic material, once and only once, and spatially segregate the resulting two sets of chromosomes when the time comes to separate into two "daughter" cells. Just in our blood system alone, we have about 500 million cells born in the bone marrow every minute of our lifetime. Inside each of these cells, the DNA in chromosomes has to be accurately duplicated and then evenly segregated into the daughter cells as they divide.

A new study involving researchers from The University of Manchester looked at the genetic information of more than 1,500 prostate cancer patients and identified two variants linked to increased risk of radiotherapy side-effects.

Nearly 50% of the 1.1 million men a year worldwide diagnosed with prostate cancer undergo radiotherapy. It is an effective treatment, but between 10 and 50 percent of men suffer from radiotherapy side-effects which can cause long-term problems with urinating or rectal bleeding.

(Boston)--A newly identified requirement of a modified human protein in ebolavirus (EBOV) replication, may unlock the door for new approaches to treating Ebola.

Zika virus has now become a household word. It can cause microcephaly, a birth defect where a baby's head is smaller than usual. Additionally, it is associated with Guillain-Barré syndrome, a neurological disorder that could lead to paralysis and even death. However, how this microbe replicates in the infected cells remains a mystery. Now, an international team led by researchers from Tianjin University and Nankai University has unraveled the puzzle of how Zika virus replicates and published their finding in Springer's journal Protein & Cell.

Janus was a Roman god with two distinct faces. Thousands of years later, he inspired material scientists working on asymmetrical microscopic spheres - with both a magnetic and a non-magnetic half - called Janus particles. Instead of behaving like normal magnetic beads, with opposite poles attracting, Janus particle assemblies look as if poles of the same type attract each other. A new study reveals that the dynamics of such assemblies can be predicted by modelling the interaction of only two particles and simply taking into account their magnetic asymmetry.

NEW YORK, NY (July 26, 2016)--A new study may explain why people who do not have celiac disease or wheat allergy nevertheless experience a variety of gastrointestinal and extra-intestinal symptoms after ingesting wheat and related cereals. The findings suggest that these individuals have a weakened intestinal barrier, which leads to a body-wide inflammatory immune response.

Findings from the study, which was led by researchers from Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC), were reported in the journal Gut.

PITTSBURGH, July 26, 2016 - The value of a healthy lifestyle isn't reflected only in the numbers on the scale or the blood pressure cuff. University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health researchers demonstrated that it also can be measured through improved "health-related quality of life."

An international team of scientists who searched out specimens from museums and remote Arctic islands has identified a rare new species of beaked whale that ranges from northern Japan across the Pacific Ocean to Alaska's Aleutian Islands.

Japanese whalers call the enigmatic black whales "karasu," the Japanese word for raven. The new species is darker in color and about two-thirds the size of the more common Baird's beaked whale, but so scarce that even whalers rarely see them.

ITHACA, N.Y. - Cornell researchers have advice for vineyard managers in cool and humid climates like the Northeast: cover up.

FORT LAUDERDALE/DAVIE, Fla. - When it comes to long distance relationships, it seems the barnacle has it all figured out. That's because if they fancy a mate who is far away, the male can simply make his penis longer to meet the need.

That's right - unlike humans, barnacles have the ability to physically change the size and length of their penis.

You may be asking yourself "how does one study such a thing?"

ITHACA, N.Y. - Cornell University biological engineers have deciphered the cellular strategy to make the biofuel ethanol, using an anaerobic microbe feeding on carbon monoxide - a common industrial waste gas.

"Instead of having the waste go to waste, you make it into something you want," said Ludmilla Aristilde, assistant professor in biological and environmental engineering. "In order to make the microbes do our work, we had to figure out how they work, their metabolism."

Reston, VA (July 26, 2016) - According to a new study by the Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute, the last 13 years have seen a substantial growth in the ordering of computed tomography angiography (CTA) examinations in the Medicare population, particularly in the emergency department (ED) setting.